Spirit Child
by LuckyKittens
Summary: A child blessed by spirits. Connected by the string of fate to a man. First lesson of life learned. A name given. A loyalty earned. First meeting with a teacher. The creation of a disfunctionally happy family. Spirits!AU. Later!Angst. Eventual!Canon divergence.


**So... This is the rewritten version of this story. And this story has an official second chapter. Currently on progress. Well, Enjoy~**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gintama. If I did, I'll make sure Tama won't die. or shutting down... And Shouyou will stay dead. Literally six feet under.**

 **Warning: Slight AU. Divergence will be more pronounced in future chapters. Some gore, but not much.**

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 **Spirit Child**

 **Chapter One**

 **The Original Meeting**

A lone tree stood proudly in the middle of a warzone. A child in his early years, walked limply towards the tree. The child then sat down under the tree, taking cover under the cool shadow.

The wind spirits messed around with his untamed wavy silver hair. The child tsk-ed in annoyance. He tightened his grip to his katana, as the wind spirits froze from their playful demeanors. The wind became still. Two groups of men marched down toward the tree. The earth spirits growled. For another blood would be shed and another body would return to earth in disgrace.

The boy stared blankly at the marching soldier. He noted that the spirits of death had gathered. Ready to harvest every unfortunate souls, deliver them to the hands of shinigami. The boy sighed. He told the spirits of wind to took him somewhere else. He knew the outcome of this battle and he did not want to see it. The spirits buzzed, and the child disappeared without trace.

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The boy appeared again on another battlefield. One that had just finished. Fresh bodies littered every inches of the ground. The earth spirits growled in distaste. The life spirits disappeared. And the number of the spirits of death was suffocating.

The boy strolled around the battlefield and took some leftover onigiris from one of the corpse. There was no tree. So he made a seat from corpses. Crows ate the corpses around him and became his companion. He watched the sun sets as the spirits of death buzzed around him. They took lost souls and delivered them to the shinigami. The child ate his onigiri slowly. Savoring the bitter and metallic taste of blood that covered the onigiri. He dozed off. Never noticed the red string of fate that started to form.

He woke up from his daze when a hand gently rubbed his head. The boy stopped chewing and looked curiously at a man with gentle smile on his face. The man had a long soft brown hair. The boy felt wary. No one ever smiled like that to him. They always ran in fear. Afraid of his ability. They thought of him as a monster. To be feared and nothing else.

"I came after hearing a corpse-eating demon. Would that be you? A rather cute demon."*

So the boy slapped the man's hand and took a step backwards. And unsheathed his katana. The man only chuckled softly. As if he had expected the boy to be like that. The spirits of life around the man danced as a precious string of fate started to form.

"Did you also took that from a corpse?"* the man asked and the boy licked his lips.

"A single child stripping corpses to protect himself, is it? That's very impressive. However you no longer need that sword."* At this point, the boy prepared to strike. The man merely smiled. The boy tensed.

"A sword that's only swung in self-defense while fearing others,"* the man took his sword, the boy widened his eyes and snarled.

"should be thrown away."* And the man threw his sword to the boy. The boy was startled and caught the sword. He struggled to keep his balance.

"I shall give you my sword. If you wish to learn how to properly use it then come with me."* The man turned around and started to walk away. The boy blinked. Confused by this whole ordeal. Someone just asked him to come. A complete stranger with that kind eyes. Was it worth it? To take those offers? Or not to take? Will there be some sort of trouble?

The boy noticed the red string that connected him to the man. He finally made up his mind. He chose to follow the man. The spirits around him buzzed. Singing and dancing. Grateful to the man that gave their child hope. Hope for a place to belong. Hope for a better life. All spirits rejoiced. But the spirits of time did not. For they have known a bitter future waiting for him.

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The man was startled when he felt something tug his kimono. He looked below and noted the child looked at him with those beautiful crimson eyes. The eyes that captivated him in first sight. The man smiled.

"So, you choose to follow me, little one?" he asked.

The child nodded. The string that connected them grew stronger and thicker and brighter. The child was confused. A strange feeling formed in his heart. Was this happiness? Or was this hope? He didn't know. All he knew was the man felt safe and nice and love and warm and comforting. No one gave him that kind of feeling before. It was…. wonderful.

So the man return to his home. A home where numerous other children learnt the meaning of life. He returned with a child. A child with hair as silver as a gleaming metal blade. With eyes as red as ruby. The unlikely duo then another part of their makeshift family. One blessed by the spirits of life, and another blessed by the spirits of death. An unlikely duo that will change the child's life.

"What is your name little one?" the man asked. Alas, the child did not answer. The child was busy listening to the humming of spirits around him. He tried to find a semblance of name among the spirits' hum. Nevertheless, he could only hear snippets of it.

' _Gin'_ they said. _'Our blessed little silver-haired child. Forever ours. Forever blessed.'_

The child muttered softly, "Gin."

"Is that so? No last name?" the man asked again and the child shook his head.

"Then we need to give you one. How about…. Sakata Gintoki?" the man smiled.

The child heard the spirits around him sang in joy. Sang for the man who gave their child a name. A true human name. So the child nodded, for if the spirits were happy then it was a good thing.

The man's smile became even more radiant. "Then, Gintoki-kun. My name is Yoshida Shouyou. You can call me Shouyou-sensei, just like the other kids."

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 **So... If you please be patient on the next chappie. By the way, for next chappie the warning will be OOC. Like major OOC. Like Chibi!Takasugi went all flighty. Sort of. In a way.**

 *** Stars means the dialogue taken directly from the anime subs.**

 **This part in particular is one of Gintoki's flashback during the fight with Jiraiya. You know, the part where GinTsukki fans will probably scream around shouting true love prevail or something. Because Gin-san said something about Tsukki shouldn't carry her burden alone. At least that's what I remembered. No offense to you. But I'm neutral with a bit of GinTsukki tendency. Of course, I'm one of those people that prefers the main characters to remains single forever.  
**

 **Right, don't forget to click that follow and favourite buttons and leave a review on your way out~**

 **Ciao~~**


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